Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Increases Stake in Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) by 12.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,994 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,077 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Easterly Government Properties were worth $382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 814.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,770 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 604.0% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,878 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 5,043 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties during the 4th quarter valued at about $70,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties during the 4th quarter valued at about $87,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties during the 4th quarter valued at about $97,000. 86.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Performance

DEA opened at $23.43 on Tuesday. Easterly Government Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.33 and a 12-month high of $36.31. The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.79 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50 day moving average is $21.99 and its 200 day moving average is $24.59. The company has a current ratio of 4.90, a quick ratio of 4.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73. The company had revenue of $78.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.67 million. Easterly Government Properties had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 1.30%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Easterly Government Properties Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 8.92%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. Easterly Government Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Easterly Government Properties from $27.50 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Easterly Government Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Easterly Government Properties in a report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.50 price objective on the stock. Finally, Compass Point reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.75 price objective (down previously from $37.50) on shares of Easterly Government Properties in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.69.

Easterly Government Properties Profile

Easterly Government Properties, Inc (NYSE: DEA) is based in Washington, DC, and focuses primarily on the acquisition, development and management of Class A commercial properties that are leased to the U.S. Government. Easterly’s experienced management team brings specialized insight into the strategy and needs of mission-critical U.S.